{"id":2972,"date":"2023-07-03T13:12:56","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T17:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/?p=2972"},"modified":"2023-07-03T13:12:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T17:12:56","slug":"famed-zookeeper-jack-hanna-can-no-longer-remember-most-family-members-after-alzheimers-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2023\/07\/famed-zookeeper-jack-hanna-can-no-longer-remember-most-family-members-after-alzheimers-diagnosis.html","title":{"rendered":"Famed Zookeeper Jack Hanna Can No Longer Remember Most Family Members After Alzheimer\u2019s Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kathy Hutchins \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Columbus Dispatch<\/a> recently released a profile to describe the deteriorating mental state of famed zookeeper and conservationist Jack Hanna, 76. Hanna, famous for his conservation shows and late-night appearances, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer\u2019s in 2019. According to the profile, Hanna, who spent the majority of his career in Columbus, OH, no longer recalls having ever been to the city. He mainly only remembers his wife, Suzi, his dog Brassy, and Kathaleen, the oldest of his three daughters. He and his wife are living quietly in Montana now, with Hanna spending most of his days sitting on the porch. \u201cMy husband is still in there somewhere. There are still those sweet, tender moments \u2013 you know, pieces of him that made me and the rest of the world fall in love with him. It\u2019s hard. Real hard some days. But he took care of me all those years, and so it\u2019s my turn to take care of him,\u201d said Suzi. Hanna\u2019s middle daughter, Suzanne, painfully shared her own experience, saying, \u201cHe just stopped remembering who I was in all ways. Whether it was in person or by phone, he had no idea I was his daughter. I think it\u2019s because he didn\u2019t see me as much because I got married so young and I moved away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family had initially kept Hanna\u2019s condition private, with Hanna asking his wife to promise not to share the diagnosis. However, in 2021, after there were allegations that animals he showed were not from the zoo but were from essentially \u201canimal prisons,\u201d the media became very interested in the conservationist. Hanna\u2019s family kept him unaware of the accusations, but when news outlets continued to want to hear Hanna\u2019s own statement on the controversy, they felt forced to share his condition. Kathaleen called the whole experience \u201cHell.\u201d \u201cIt was hell \u2013 absolute hell. He would never knowingly allow animals to suffer. They created a narrative around my dad that isn\u2019t true, and he couldn\u2019t defend himself. My dad would have faced all this head-on like he always did\u2026 He dedicated most of his life to protecting animals. It was all so heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathaleen shared that she hoped the article would help others going through the same experience to know they are not alone. In a follow-up<\/a> to the profile, The Columbus Dispatch revealed that the family had received many letters of support and gratitude. One woman by the name of Deborah Victor said the story resonated with her. \u201cI could relate to everything the Hanna family is experiencing\u2026it truly is the long goodbye,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAs a caregiver to someone with this terrible disease, unless you have done this and gone through the phases of this condition, there is no one who can truly understand what happens to your life and your loved one\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanna isn\u2019t the only public figure dealing with cognitive issues. The family of famed movie star Bruce Willis<\/a> revealed that he had frontotemporal dementia last year. \u201cBruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that\u2014if he could today\u2014he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families,\u201d the family shared in a statement. The family has kept fairly private about Willis\u2019s current condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Columbus Dispatch recently released a profile to describe the deteriorating mental state of famed zookeeper and conservationist Jack Hanna, 76. Hanna, famous for his conservation shows and late-night appearances, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer\u2019s in 2019. According to the profile, Hanna, who spent the majority of his career in Columbus, OH, no longer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":2978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFamed Zookeeper Jack Hanna Can No Longer Remember Most Family Members After Alzheimer\u2019s Diagnosis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jack Hanna, famous for his conservation shows and late-night appearances, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer\u2019s in 2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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